books recently, so we present an impromptu Wicked Lovely Week. Shortlink to this post:
. Take it away, Kimberly!
SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read the previous books in the Wicked Lovely Series, there may be spoilers ahead.
Publisher: Harper Teen (February 22, 2011)
ARC: 327 Pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
Book from Author*
From Goodreads. The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.
Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.
Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.
Review by Kate
DARKEST MERCY, by Melissa Marr, is the final book in the
Wicked Lovely series. The previous books lead up to a action-filled, suspenseful, and romantic ending to the series.
No character was safe in this book. The faeries that I got to know and love throughout the series were tested to their limits against the prospect of a fight against War. I liked the multiple POV structure of this book. Marr weaved her characters in and out of each other's lives to create an amazing web of intrigue and suspense. The pressure of the Courts to be strong overwhelmed the reagents, and I was curious to see how far they would all go to protect their fey.
The love quadrangle between Ash, Keenan, Seth, and Donia supplied some heavy sexual tension. Marr definitely tortured her characters through their decisions, and in turn I, as the reader, was tortured! Some incredible events transpired just between these characters but it was astonishing and such a perfect path laid for these characters which I never saw coming.
My only disappointment was the ending of this series. I will always pick up a book that Marr writes and these books will stay in my library for a long time. It is sad to see the end but I am very pleased with the result.
A cover note: How GORGEOUS is the cover? The
Wicked Lovely Series has always been know for its great covers but I think this one blows them all away. That flower and the colors make this book one to pick up even if you have not read the series. Major props to the art department on this one.
My Reviews of the Wicked Lovely Series
By: Laura,
on 2/22/2011
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Tomorrow night, Wednesday, 2/23, 5:00 PST/8:00 EST, Melissa Marr will be at Mysterious Galaxy Books in San Diego to celebrate the release of the fifth and final book in the Wicked Lovely series, DARKEST MERCY.
Even if you don’t live nearby (or you live nearby and didn’t score a ticket), you can watch the event by livestream here. You can watch the event live and even send in your questions for Melissa. Pretty cool, right?
It’s the wave of the future, don’t you think? I can attend a book event in Seattle from my office in New York, send in my questions to the author, share the link with friends so they can attend…and it certainly is more cost effective for all.
What do you think this technology will mean for school and library visits in the future? Have any of you out there tried livestreaming an author or illustrator visit?
Follow Melissa Marr on Twitter
“Like” the Wicked Lovely Facebook fan page
Melissa Marr is the author of Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, and the soon to be published Fragile Eternity. In August of 2007 Wicked Lovely won the Rita (Romance Writers of America) Award for Best Young Adult Book. Her biography states that in high school she was voted “most likely to to end up in jail,” which shows the uniqueness of her life. This uniqueness is reflected in Marr’s novels which mirror human nature at it’s loveliest as well as nastiest. Below is an online interview with Marr.
When you started writing Wicked Lovely, were you planning on 
writing more books set in the same world?
I didn’t have a plan. When I started, I wrote a short story. About a year later, those characters and that story evolved into a novel. As soon as I finished it, I began writing another novel (parts of which eventually became the second and third books, Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity respectively). Currently, I’m planning a total of 5 books in this world. The fourth of those is the one I’m currently writing.
Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what are the musical playlists for both books?
I can’t write without music—or proofread with it. Each book starts out with a collection of songs that grow & shrink & get sorted as I write. Some characters have playlists too. When I hear a song I think works for a character, I save it to their individual playlist. (FWIW, my webmaster posted a bit of a playlist on my website for both of the first two books.) With WL, I listened to a fair bit of Jem, Tegan & Sara, and The Corrs. For INK, I had music with more obvious teeth— Within Temptation, 30 Seconds to Mars, Bella Morte. For the manga series (Desert Tales), I listened to Sia and Damien Rice a lot. Fragile Eternity had a lot of A Fine Frenzy and Hurt. And, for reasons I don’t question, every book includes listening to Marilyn Manson. He’s my failsafe. Whenever I need inspiration or a shot of energy, his art is one of the resources that I can rely on to spur me to write.
In your bio you say that you’ve lived all over the country. Why did you choose Pennsylvania as the setting?
Actually, I’ve never really thought of it AS being in PA. It was a sort of “any town.” Pennsylvania works—but so does New Jersey or West Virginia. There are references to Pittsburgh & DC, but Huntsdale isn’t defined as being in particular state location. Folks assume it’s PA bc of the P-burgh reference and bc I’m from PA. It’s certainly a viable possibility, but so are a few other spots.
Why not specify? It’s like writing detailed physical descriptions of the characters: I think that sort of concrete real-world data is unnecessary. Adding it takes away from the stories I’m trying to tell. I know what the characters look like, and I could find Huntsdale on a map . . . but that’s my visual and my map. Yours would be different, so who am I to impose mine on you? Everywhere I’ve been in my travels, there are towns with folks desperate to escape. There are spots fighting economic depressions and teens and adults dreaming of a way out. That feels familiar to me; it’s been a theme that runs through conversations I’ve had with people all over. I like leaving it non-specific for that reason.
Your novels remind me of Holly Black’s modern fairy tale series. Have you read her novels and if so are they an influence?
I have read and enjoyed Holly’s YA novels. Her novels, along with Clare Dunkle’s and Charles de Lint’s and Emma Bull’s and Neil Gaiman and a host of other authors’ texts, gave me hope that there was a chance for stories rooted in old folklore to find readers. Their texts did (and do) what folklore has done: take the improbable and mythic beings and place them in the Real World. It’s what folklore has been doing for centuries. It’s what I’m trying to do. Like them, I stay lore-true in some cases, but vary in others. Frex, I didn’t stick as true to courts as Holly Black and Emma Bull do. They both use Seelie & Unseelie, whereas I did a four court structure and made up two a court for Cailleach Bheur (Winter Court) instead of it being just her and her hags.
What other novels and writers have influenced your writing?
Everything influences what a writer writes. My biggest influence textually is folklore. In terms of writing, classic literature is where I find my inspirations. Faulkner does gorgeous things in incorporating full sensory experiences. He tweaks narrative structure and threads wisdom into a good story. Browning and Wilkie Collins did the narrative structure thing brilliantly. Christina Rossetti evoked folklore for modern (to her) political statements—as did Hardy and Barrett Browning. They did this all within good storytelling. That’s my goal. I’m obviously not there yet, and quite probably will never touch even the bottoms of their shoes, but that’s my influence—folklore and literature.
How do you come up with fairy names? Did you research them? Are they variations on other mythical names?
Some are from myth. Beira is from one of the many names of Cailleach Bheur/Cally Berry/Beara. She was the one who made Winter spread. It wasn’t a court though. She was attended by her hags. I wanted her to have more companionship than her hags and her wolf, though. I kept a version of her name, but in the myth where she’s thwarting the embodiment of Summer, I re-named him Keenan (little ancient one) bc liked the etymology of Keenan for the character.
Aislinn wasn’t the name of the missing Summer Queen, but Aislinn is a sort of traditional “dream or vision poem.” It’s also a name. I thought that fit well.
Niall means “champion”—which was appropriate for his role in the novels.
In terms of types of faeries, yes, most of those are research rooted as well. Ly Ergs are based on a type of faery who was a warrior with a “red right hand” stained with blood. Bananach is one name of a carrion-crow. Rowan is a sacred tree, so rowan faeries seemed fitting. Thistle fey are a result of the thistle as a traditionally used herb, combined with the idea of skin that caused pain to touch. (A similar type of faery is in the manga in the desert for the same set of reasons.) Scrimshaw is carved bone, and the rather macabre faeries are called that bc of their general mien. The more animalistic and natural ones (including thistle and scale) are a sort of homage to Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” which was the poem that made me want to be a lit teacher.
This is a dangerous question. *smiles* I research and read and angst over the names and characters and allusions to the point of obsessive sometimes. Frex, I opted to call the Dark Man Far Dorcha as opposed to Fear Dorcha bc although “fear” is the proper spelling of “man” it looks like fear (i.e. fright) which has connotations that I didn’t want. A folklorist I talk to kindly sent a letter asking about my “inaccurate spelling of ‘fear’ in the Dark Man’s name.” I was all anxious as I explained the logic & hoped my logic was acceptable to her. (It was.) The decision to do that was seemingly minor—I mean, it’s a single letter I changed, right? It wasn’t a minor choice though.
In Ink Exchange, Leslie the main character is mentally and physically abused. Do you have any advice to give to teens in similar circumstances?
“Get help” and “tell someone” are easy to say, but awfully hard to do sometimes. However, those are good first steps. It’s the healing part that’s a little more nebulous. I’m a rape survivor, and I had lots of advice from helpful folks. At the time, though, it all felt like noise. I believe it does get easier over time. It did for me. It’s such a personal path though. I’ve known folks for whom group therapy or one-on-one or self defense or religion helped. Revenge doesn’t. Drugs don’t. Sex binges don’t. Avoid the stuff that masks how you feel and is destructive to your spirit or your body.
How would you feel about a fan getting Irial’s tattoo? Horrified, pleased, or indifferent?
I’ve had a few dozen emails from folks on this so far. Personally, I don’t think it’s my place to have any opinion on what someone else does to decorate his/her body. When I’m asked, my only real concern is the same as it is when asked about any tattoo opinions: please research to assure that the person into whose care you’re trusting your body is a true professional. Beyond that, it’s not my place to have a voice in this.
Any plans for new tattoos?
*grin* Always.
What’s the most common drink requested in a biker bar? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve found in an archeological dig?
Most of the places I’ve worked were beer and whiskey places. I worked in one beach bar that was fluffy drinks, but the clientele there wasn’t very much fun so I moved on pretty quickly. The dig I worked was colonial ( a settlement that had been razed & re-settled & later abandoned) , so we found a lot of pottery shards, tools, and daubing. My favourite finds were when I could collect a piece of a dish that I’d found earlier pieces of, like a puzzle slowly coming together.
Can you tell us a little bit about Fragile Eternity the next novel in this series?
I’m so not good at this part. FE is a sequel. When I finished writing Wicked Lovely, I started a new book; parts of that book became Ink Exchange and parts became Fragile Eternity. It’s funny to me that I wrote WL in a matter of months, but INK took almost three times as long and FE was already in progress at that time (and after). Instead of it taking less time, each book has taken longer. Fragile is a sequel in that it revisits the protags from Wicked Lovely. I call it “Seth’s book” bc he’s the center of this novel. FE is set directly after INK, but it’s going back to Ash, Seth, Keenan, & Donia.
The fourth book is “Ani’s book”—she’s the center of the events that take place in it. Like INK, it stands alone.
The fifth one (the final book) is back to Ash & Donia again. Like Fragile Eternity, it’s part of the original protag’s story.
Also can you tell us about the 3-book manga series coming out next year?
Desert Tales is a story that I started about Rika, a former Winter Girl. I’d started it as a short story or maybe the start a novel, but when I was asked to do the manga, I knew that this story worked. The central question I was wondering about was what happens to the winter Girls once they’re freed. There is only one Winter Girl at a time, so where do the others go? I had a few ideas (which I reference briefly at points in Wicked Lovely), but I wanted to explore it further. Where would she go? Somewhere hot, away from Keenan, and out of Winter’s reach . . . the desert. What would she feel? What leftover fears, worries, hopes, dreams would she have? Trust issues . . . It felt like something to follow up on, and the manga was a new venue in which to do so. Writing it was fabulous fun, and Irene Diaz (the artist) really made the whole process thrilling for me. I love seeing the thousands of words I wrote converted into a few hundred pages of images. It was incredible to me to see how few pen strokes it takes Irene to “say” they same thing in images that I said in paragraphs of words. Visual art is like magic to me.
If you were a fairy what kind would you be and to what court would you belong too?
I actually have no desire to be anything other than who and what I am, so if the choices were infinite, I’d be me as I am right now. If the options were limited to faeries, I’d be solitary. I’m not very good at following orders. Winter makes my body ache; High is too reserved; and Dark or Summer . . . well, it’s not where I’d choose at this point in my life. Once upon a time, I would’ve liked those two the best, but I’m a mom now so giving myself over to sheer decadence isn’t the path I’m on these days. Vacations into indulgence are still on the table as options, but so are bouts of practicality. Solitary would enable me to meander among a few courts, so I’d go for that option. As to what kind, I’ve always had a fascination for water beings—selchies, kelpies, finn-folk—so I’d probably lean towards those options. The spouse & beasties are all ocean lovers, so I suspect they’d veer that way, and in the end, that’s my ultimate decision maker: the path that assures that I’m with my family.
Thanks for the fun questions!
M.
*Thank you Melissa Marr for providing such an entertaining interview! The YaYaYas are looking forward to the publications of your new works!
Before I go on, I must say that I haven't always been a fan of fantasy books. I think it's been within the past 3 years, I've fallen in love with the worlds and stories created by fantasy authors. With that being said, I'd heard a lot of whisperings about Melissa Marr's, Wicked Lovely, and wanted to see for myself if it was as good as people said it was. I was not disappointed!
First of all, being a person who loves books with aesthetically pleasing covers, I found Marr's cover to be awesome! The cover itself made me want to read on. Then, I started reading - and couldn't put the book down.
Keenan, the Summer King in a land of faeries, knows that Aislinn, a mortal, is special. He's dreamed of her and believes that she's the one...the one bound to become the Summer Queen...the one whose power, along with his, is strong enough to defeat the Winter Queen (Keenan's mother). If the Winter Queen isn't defeated, summer will perish and her cold power will take over both the fairy and human world. For centuries, Keenan has seduced countless number of girls into loving him, only to find that they aren't the one. The girls are then banished into a cold captivity until another girl is seduced by Keenan. Donia is the most recent victim, forced to live a cold existence, still loving Keenan, but unable to have him.
Aislinn is different from the other girls, for she's inherited the gift (if you can call it that) of being able to see the faeries who freely walk our human world (invisible to humans). Her grandmother keeps Aislinn on a short leash because of the dangers that come along with this special sight. Tired, and at times, afraid, she seeks refuge in the home of her best friend and love interest, Seth. His converted train car, made of iron, protects Aislinn from the faeries who've begun stalking her (iron harms faeries). There's a love triangle between Keenan, Aislinn, and Seth. Keenan is determined to have Aislinn, despite the fact that it's obvious something's going on between her and Seth. This makes Keenan out to be the bad guy, but really, he's just trying to save his fey from the Winter Queen's cold rule. Will the Winter Queen be defeated? Will Donia ever be freed from her captivity? Is Aislinn going to end up with Keenan or Seth? Is Aislinn really the one destined to be the Summer Queen, or is she just like the other girls? So many questions and one would have to read the book in order to find the answers.
Like I said, I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. The book not only had me rooting for Keenan in his quest to defeat his mother, but also rooting for Aislinn's victory in discovering herself as well as her relationship with Seth. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read, especially if you're an avid fantasy fan. I cannot read Melissa Marr's next book, Ink Exchange.
Rae's Rating: A+
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr is a creepy, haunting urban fantasy that fully lives up to the standard set by Marr’s first book, Wicked Lovely… though it isn’t quite as good.
Ink Exchange is the story of Leslie, a girl who wants to get a tattoo to reclaim her body as her own (though you’ll have to read the book to find out why she feels the need to do so). Leslie’s family is broken—her mother is gone, her father drinks, and her brother is high all the time. She feels distant from her friends, particularly Aislinn (the main character of Wicked Lovely), who seems to be changing in ways that Leslie cannot explain or understand.
Leslie’s tattoo is beautiful—a pair of winged eyes on her upper back. But, as it turns out, it is not a normal tattoo. Leslie has become the subject of an Ink Exchange, something which ties her to the King of the Dark Court, Irial. This bond, as well as her friendship with Aislinn and a growing romance between she and the faery Niall, plunges Leslie into the strange and dangerous world of Faerie.
As I said before, Ink Exchange is good, but not quite as good as Wicked Lovely. One reason for this, I think, is Leslie’s relationship with Niall. Ink Exchange is the story of a damaged girl attempting to regain control of her life, and I felt that her romance with Niall was superfluous, unnecessary. At times it was even melodramatic— earning a very teenage roll of the eyes from me (though I do tend to roll my eyes a lot). It also created a Niall-Leslie-Irial love triangle that was a little too similar to the Seth-Aislinn-Keenan love triangle from Wicked Lovely.
All in all, though, Ink Exchange was a gorgeously executed, fabulously dark urban fantasy—just what I would expect from Melissa Marr. Irial made me shiver (creepycreepycreepy) and Leslie was a believable and interesting main character. So read this book. It’s good.
I give it four daggers.
Shivering, creeped out, happy, and yours,
The Dark Court's nature is terrifyingly brutal. Its king, Irial, is icily cruel and oddly compassionate by turns. And Leslie--accidentally tied to them by the tattoo meant to set her free--is confused. Her will is not her own these days, and she has no idea why.
This is the world of Ink Exchange. It's scary, beautiful, and well imagined. Admittedly, it isn't as good as Wicked Lovely, but is quite enjoyable nonetheless. I didn't find the Niall-Leslie love shape quite as superfluous as Aislinn seemed to. He (Niall) is quite a good character.
I bestow three and a half out of five daggers on Ink Exchange.
Looking over my shoulder for faeries...
Ink Exchange comes out on April 29.
Wicked Lovely is the story of a girl who can see faeries. Not shiny, happy, sparkly, petal-wearing fairies—scary ones. Thus the spelling: fairy = Tinkerbell, faery = awesome. And of course, by awesome I mean, you know. Frightening.
Aislinn (That’s the girl’s name. Coincidentally, it is also my name. It’s pronounced Ash-lin, not Ah-is-lin, or Ay-es-lin, or Bill, or however one chooses to butcher it.) catches the eye of a faery named Keenan, who turns out to be something called the Summer King. This makes him an important person (or faerie). He’s also kind of a jerk. Keenan has been searching for a bride for nine centuries (faeries are immortal, if you were wondering) and thinks that Aislinn may be the one. I won’t go into all the details, but, basically, Aislinn is given a choice: become a Summer Girl (one of many simpering idiots who die if they go too far from Keenan), or take a test. Obviously, I’m not talking about a math test. It’s a magical test. You know, like slaying a dragon or pulling a sword out of a stone (though slaying a dragon is more about brute strength and/or battle prowess). If Aislinn passes, she becomes the Summer Queen, Keenan’s bride (also, a curse gets broken and some other stuff happens, but I won’t go into that). If she fails, she becomes the Winter Girl, forced to endure constant cold and bound to serve the Winter Queen (who is evil, of course). And no, I’m not going to tell you what the test is. You’ll have to read the book. It isn’t slaying a dragon, though.
Anyhow, while all this is going on, Aislinn is getting into a romantic entanglement with a boy named Seth. Unlike Keenan, Seth is wonderful. He is also mine—sorry, Avery dear. Seth lives in a train car. And has tattoos. And a snake. Also, he’s hot. And did I mention mine?
Wicked Lovely is Melissa Marr’s first novel, and she had better write more now, because it is most absolutely utterly wonderful fantabulous. It starts out a little slow, with a scene that is supposed to introduce you to the concept of faeries and the fact that Aislinn can see them. But Aislinn’s fear at seeing them seems a bit forced—she’s been seeing them all her life, and you’d figure she’d be used to it. The book recovers quickly, though, and has very few weak moments after that. There were some times when I wanted to scream at the characters because they were making bad decisions and don’t be stupid and ack don’t do that you idiot because can’t you see that other thing? But I’m not sure that this is bad. I scream at characters a lot, see.
I give this book 4.5 daggers out of 5.
Sincerely, book-reviewingly, Seth-kidnappingly, faery-lovingly yours,
Faeries have been a part of my life (self? soul?) since I was very, very young. Because of this, I just happen to have an affinity for books about them. Often, I will be excited about a book on the subject of faeries, only to be monumentally disappointed. Fortunately, however, this was not so with Melissa Marr's 'Wicked Lovely'.
The book, as Aislinn (Nyx, not the main character) stated, began shakily with an awkward "I see fairies" scene. It recovered quickly, plunging the reader into an epic clash between winter and summer, love and obligation, mortal and faery. You know... everything that my daily life would be if it weren't... normal.
One thing that I really loved about this book was its love story. The high ranking fae creature verses the best friend is a common love conflict/scenario, popular among many fantasy writers. The great thing about Wicked Lovely is that Marr took a common theme and made it original and complex. And entirely awesome.
(And actually, Aislinn darling, Seth is not yours. He may not be mine, but if I can not have him, neither can you. So there.)
All in all, Wicked Lovely was, well... lovely.
I pierce the icy heart of the Winter Queen with four and a half daggers.
Fae at heart...
About five years ago one of my bookclub friends gave me a little fig tree that was a volunteer from the fig tree in her yard. I planted it in the sunniest spot in my side yard and waited to see what would happen. I didn't know anything about figs and didn't even know they could grow in this zone 7 area. The first winter it was hit hard by ice and snow. That spring it didn't put out new leaves and I thought it was gone. Late in the spring I saw new shoots coming up out of the ground, and sure enough it regrew from a new trunk. The next year it grew a little bigger, but still no figs appeared. It gradually got bigger every year since. Last year was the first year we had figs. There were fewer than 20 total for the whole season, and I let Buddy eat them right off the tree because he loves them. I wasn't particularly impressed with the flavor or texture.
This year we saw our first small green fig in April. It didn't get ripe until June. Then a new batch appeared, not ripening till now. I am surprised at how long they stay little and green. I need to do more research on growing figs. The picture in my blog header is of a green fig on the tree, BTW.
This is the first year I have tried to cook with figs. I searched online for recipes for gluten free fig cookies and borrowed from all the ones I found that looked really good. I used Pamela's Ultimate Gluten Free Baking mix, and took the cookie recipe off the bag for the core of my own creation. If you want to make these cookies with regular flour (not gluten free), just add a tsp. of baking powder, half tsp. of baking soda and half tsp. salt to the recipe. It's basically the same as chocolate chip cookies, but pressed in a pan with a layer of fig jam in between layers of cookie dough. Here's what I did:
Fig Bar Cookies
Fig Jam:
2 c. figs, quartered with stems cut off
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
Simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Jam will thicken. Cool.
Cookie Dough:
1 1/2 c. Pamela's gluten free baking mix
1/2 c. Butter Flavored Crisco (you can use butter or margarine)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream Crisco, sugar, eggs & vanilla. Add flour and mix. Dough will be stiff. Spread half dough in a 9 x 11 inch baking pan.
Spread fig jam over dough.
Roll our other half of dough between two layers of plastic wrap. Remove top piece of plastic wrap, turn dough onto fig jam, remove plastic wrap, press down around the edges. Prick with a fork.
Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. Cookies should be dark brown around the edges and toasty looking all over. Leave in for 5 more minutes if they don't look dark enough. Cool in the pan. Cut into squares when still warm.
I wish I had started with more figs so I could have a thicker jam filling layer the first time I made these. The figs only ripen one or two a day and they only keep in the fridge for a couple days, so it's tricky collecting enough to make really satisfying cookies. I think I should make the jam every two or three days and store it in the fridge to bake with later. Anyone else make yummy things with figs? What else are you harvesting these days?
The two cookbooks that I rely on and take great delight in are Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Comfort Food and The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, both by Bette Hagman. When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease three years ago I was devastated to learn that because of my genetically-inherited gluten intolerance I would have to change my diet immediately to remove all wheat, rye and barley products. My favorite foods were pasta, bread, cakes and cookies. I thought I would never enjoy a meal again. Bette Hagman's cookbooks gave me hope. She patiently taught me about alternate flours from rice, corn, potato, tapioca and beans. She tutored me in the importance of egg whites, xanthan gum and precise mixing techniques that make it possible for me to make all of my old favorite foods and discover many new ones. Without those cookbooks I would be much hungrier and drearier. I learned last week that she was ill and today I heard that she past away on August 17.
In honor of all she gave us with her pioneering spirit determined to perfect delicious gluten free baking and cooking, Seamaiden at the blog Book of Yum is hosting a blog memorial event. She says,
"Bette Hagman, a pioneer of Gluten Free baking and the author of the “Gluten Free Gourmet” cookbooks passed away around the 17th of August. Bette Hagman was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a disease requiring a gluten free diet free of wheat, rye, oats and barley, more than twenty-five years ago. She wrote six cookbooks, each offering a multitude of delicious wheat- and gluten-free recipes—what she called a “prescription for living.” She was a writer, lecturer, and twenty-five-year member of the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) and lived in Seattle and transformed the diets of many of us who are gluten intolerant. I would like to propose over the next two weeks from August 20th to September 3rd that we all bake something from one of Bette Hagman’s cookbooks, and take a really beautiful photo of the baked good that we produce. I would like to think of each photo as a flower bouquet honoring Bette Hagman, and so include at least one beautiful flower (and possibly a flower bouquet) in the background of your photo or placed on the baked good like the photo I posted here. Post your photo on your blog along with a short (one or two line) note on the impact Bette Hagman had on your life and comment here with the link or email it to me. Please download the “Baked in Honor” tag and post it along with your post. If you feel comfortable doing so, include a wallet sized photograph of yourself in the post or email. If you don’t have a blog, that’s ok, just send me the photo(s) and your message. Please size your photo to be about the same size as the photo posted here. I will personally take these photos to Kinkos, create a poster/card of some kind with the images and our personal messages, and mail them to the Gluten Intolerance Group, in care of Cynthia Kupper, so that she may deliver the card to Bette’s daughter. I will also do a roundup on this site with all the photos. I would really love for Bette Hagman’s family to know how many of our lives Bette touched with her cookbooks. Please help me make this event a wonderful success for a wonderful lady, Bette Hagman, the one and only true Gluten Free Gourmet."
One of the foods that I miss the most is bread. I love, love, love a good ham and cheese sandwich. I could weep over a roll with mustard, mayo, cracked pepper deli ham, provolone, garden fresh basil and just picked tomatoes. This is what I had for lunch today, with just-out-of-the-oven Bette Hagman gluten free French bread rolls. Ms. Hagman I can not tell you the joy you bring me. Thank you for your life's work. God Bless you and may the Spirit comfort your family.
Do you have Celiac? This is a link to the BEST food blog in the universe. It's not just about food - it's about being full of joy and loving life. It's beautiful writing. And here she is teaching us about how to be healthier.
Did you know that 1 out of 100 people in the U.S. has Celiac disease? And only about 3 % of us know it. That means at least one of you reading this today ( and someone else in your family) is celiac, and you probably don't know it. Go read that link and think about it.
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Thanks for the review.
Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com